Top storylines for Michigan during the 2021 early signing period

Well, that sure was something.

The opening day for the 2021 early signing period was pretty wild for the Michigan Wolverines. Unlike last year, there were curveballs all around. From commitment flips to big-time commitments on Signing Day, we saw it all.

Here are the highlights from a crazy day.

U-M gets its top QB, RB, WR targets to sign

It was a wildly successful day overall for Josh Gattis and the offensive coaching staff. Five-star quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the crown jewel of the class — who, by the way, never wavered whatsoever — signed his letter of intent to officially make him a Wolverine. To add to that, four-star wide receiver Xavier Worthy kept his commitment to Michigan after flirting with Alabama the last few weeks.

But it wasn’t over there, as Michigan landed the signature from its top running back target of the class, in-state four-star running back Donovan Edwards. The Wolverines recruited him from start to finish and did more than enough to earn his letter of intent.

Those three top 100 overall players are officially paired up with Michigan’s four-star tight end Louis Hansen, as well as its major haul along the offensive line. Put that all together and this offensive group has massive potential.

#FlipSZN has its way with U-M’s defense

With questions about the defensive coaching staff’s future, it shouldn’t be too surprising to see some of Michigan’s defensive commits in 2021 end up elsewhere.

Quintin Somerville, a four-star defensive lineman from Arizona who had been committed to Michigan since the summer, flipped on Signing Day and will instead play at UCLA. This was a bit of a shock since he had been recruited by defensive line coach Shaun Nua since his days at Arizona State, so it really makes me question his future in Ann Arbor.

To go along with that, four-star linebacker Branden Jennings flipped his commitment from Michigan to another Big Ten school, Maryland. Considering he flipped from Florida State to Michigan just a couple months ago, I would imagine his flip also has to do with the uncertainty of the coaching staff, as well as how the 2020 season played out.

Michigan tried to get in on the flip action with four-star cornerback Omarion Cooper, but he ended up sticking with his commitment to Florida State. Overall, it was a pretty lousy day in this regard for the Wolverines.

Every U-M commit signed their LOI

Excluding the two players who flipped, every committed player signed on the dotted line to play for the University of Michigan.

Why is this significant? Other than the fact something like this doesn’t happen every year, it looked like four-star linebacker Jaydon Hood was going to wait until February to make his final decision. That obviously isn’t happening, as the 6-foot-1, 212-pounder from St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida ended up signing his letter of intent Wednesday evening with his teammate and three-star Michigan cornerback signee Ja’Den McBurrows.

With all these guys solidly on board, Michigan can now focus on the few uncommitted targets remaining in the 2021 class.